Before you bring home your own little fur-ball, the writers caution you to be mindful of the downsides:

The average domestic duck relieves itself once every 15 minutes.

Ducks are in heat up to 10 months out of the year.

Most ducklings sold at Easter are drakes (males), so those hoping for fresh eggs are often disappointed.

Parents often assume they can set a duck free at a local pond once it outgrows its duckling stage, but survival is unlikely -- they can't fly, their colors don't match the environment, they don't know how to behave in the wild, and territorial ducks at a pond will kill newcomers.

We once found two abandoned ducklings on the beach and brought them home. They followed us everywhere and required attention pretty much 24/7. These days we stick with the plush toy variety!